'The Patriot's Skye McCole Bartusiak Has Died Suddenly & At a Tragically Young Age

Child star and Mel Gibson's youngest child in The PatriotSkye McCole Bartusiak was found dead Saturday at the age of 21. She reportedly died in her sleep of causes that have yet to be determined. Bartusiak, whose body was discovered in her Houston home, is best known for having worked with Gibson and Heath Ledger as Susan Martin in the 2000 film The Patriot. More recently she starred in the 2012 horror flick Sick Boy and played Sunshine in the 2006 Swedish film Kill Your Darlings. In 2005, she also played Young Kate in Lost, and before that she appeared on George Lopez and in eight episodes of 24. In 2003, she also played Helen Keller opposite Hilary Swank in The Miracle Worker.

Abigail Breslin, who has been a longtime friend of Bartusiak's, mourned the loss of her friend on Twitter, writing "One of my very good friends and someone who was like a sister to me, Skye McCole Bartusiak passed away today. So devastated."

It's always a shock to lose someone so incredibly young so suddenly. Our hearts go out to all of her friends and family in this trying time.